UK General Election 2015

[AndrewT]

There's certainly going to be a massive overlap between BNP/UKIP voters.

The rise in the BNP wasn't all from racist thugs, it became an umbrella under which certain disenfranchised white working classes could feel as though they were being listened to. These people would previously have voted Tory or Labour when those parties were more inclusive but both are now very much middle class/posh.

UKIP fulfils that role now - the thuggish element of the BNP would now be involved in the EDL/Britain First groups. It'll be interesting to see if the constituencies where BNP polled highly last time are ones in which UKIP outperform elsewhere.

[The Camel]

think it has been an excellent thread for the most part. something we can be proud of as a group of posters.

compare it to the rabid masses in the comments section of an online newspaper and realise its been a good debate on here.   


one thing i spotted today, and had to do a double check

in 2010 the BNP got a higher national share of the vote than the SNP

in 2015 the BNP are fielding 8 candidates nationwide


things have moved on, thankfully, in at least one resepct......

BNP voters moved to UKIP?

Or not voting at all?

well i don't know, and not even thinking about that inference

i was just making the point that an extreme (and for most of us an unwelcome) party has more or less disappeared from our ballot papers

I wasn't stirring, I was genuinely interested.

Over 1/2 million people voted BNP last time, those votes have to have gone somewhere.

Are they disenfranchised and not bothering to vote, or will they be voting UKIP?

Or even Labour? As I would imagine most of them are working or the under classes.

Under Classes!? :-) I would have thought they are mostly UKIP voters now. I thought it reflected well on society that mainstream media gave them a platform and the people decided to reject them. That´s how it should work. Nick Griffin on QT was priceless!

Would have thought most poker players and gamblers fall quite neatly into the under class catergory.

Someone on Facebook called me "utter scumbag dross" the other day.

I'm utter scumbag dross and proud.

[TightEnd]

top ten google searches in the uk today

read em and wonder.....

Click to see full-size image.

[The Camel]

There's certainly going to be a massive overlap between BNP/UKIP voters.

The rise in the BNP wasn't all from racist thugs, it became an umbrella under which certain disenfranchised white working classes could feel as though they were being listened to. These people would previously have voted Tory or Labour when those parties were more inclusive but both are now very much middle class/posh.

UKIP fulfils that role now - the thuggish element of the BNP would now be involved in the EDL/Britain First groups. It'll be interesting to see if the constituencies where BNP polled highly last time are ones in which UKIP outperform elsewhere.

If you were a Labour/Green supporter living in South Thanet, would you consider voting Tory to keep Farage out of parliament?

Almost certainly I would. Possibly the only constituency in England I'd vote Tory.

[neeko]

Tory—271
Lab—269
SNP—51
LD—32
DUP—8
SDLP—3
Ukp—4
Oth—12

total is 650

[Longy]

There's certainly going to be a massive overlap between BNP/UKIP voters.

The rise in the BNP wasn't all from racist thugs, it became an umbrella under which certain disenfranchised white working classes could feel as though they were being listened to. These people would previously have voted Tory or Labour when those parties were more inclusive but both are now very much middle class/posh.

UKIP fulfils that role now - the thuggish element of the BNP would now be involved in the EDL/Britain First groups. It'll be interesting to see if the constituencies where BNP polled highly last time are ones in which UKIP outperform elsewhere.

If you were a Labour/Green supporter living in South Thanet, would you consider voting Tory to keep Farage out of parliament?

Almost certainly I would. Possibly the only constituency in England I'd vote Tory.

That would be a toughie for labour/green votes, as this Constiuency was labour 1997-2010 so while they are clear outsiders this time round they aren't no hopers.

Ashcroft poll had it CON 35 UKIP 30 LAB 27 a couple of weeks ago.

[MintTrav]

Although I can't think of a single policy where I agree with Farage, I'd kind of like him to get a seat, as I find him one of the most entertaining speakers around. I watched his speech to his party conference last year and really enjoyed it. Speeches by Miliband/Cameron/Clegg are pretty snoresville in comparison. Mind you, Suzanne Evans has been performing well this week.

I'd also really like Caroline Lucas to keep her seat. She has also performed really well imo. Can't say the same for Natalie Bennett though.

[cambridgealex]

This is probably a dumb question, but why can't you vote online? Surely in this day and age it should be an option? Bet there's millions that would do it online but can't be arsed to faff around getting the forms and treking down to the station.

Also worker who commute early in the morning and work long hours, maybe don't get back till late.

People abroad on business / holiday?

There must be an obvious reason - surely we're passed all the biddies counting everything by hand as well lol.

[Kmac84]

There's certainly going to be a massive overlap between BNP/UKIP voters.

The rise in the BNP wasn't all from racist thugs, it became an umbrella under which certain disenfranchised white working classes could feel as though they were being listened to. These people would previously have voted Tory or Labour when those parties were more inclusive but both are now very much middle class/posh.

UKIP fulfils that role now - the thuggish element of the BNP would now be involved in the EDL/Britain First groups. It'll be interesting to see if the constituencies where BNP polled highly last time are ones in which UKIP outperform elsewhere.

This.  

Fascists were frst of all beaten on the street, and forced to enter politics they were then dismantled politically.  

Interestingly despite being a bunch of rabid racists in terms of actual policy BNP were more left wing than Labour.  

[neeko]

This is probably a dumb question, but why can't you vote online? Surely in this day and age it should be an option? Bet there's millions that would do it online but can't be arsed to faff around getting the forms and treking down to the station.

Also worker who commute early in the morning and work long hours, maybe don't get back till late.

People abroad on business / holiday?

There must be an obvious reason - surely we're passed all the biddies counting everything by hand as well lol.

There is not a secure online way to ensure each person only votes once.

20% of voters have a postal vote that can be done 3 weeks early.

[Kmac84]

Tory— 286
Lab— 268
SNP— 46
LD— 28
DUP— 8
SDLP— 3
Ukp— 3
Oth— 8

total is 650

[doubleup]

This is probably a dumb question, but why can't you vote online? Surely in this day and age it should be an option? Bet there's millions that would do it online but can't be arsed to faff around getting the forms and treking down to the station.

Also worker who commute early in the morning and work long hours, maybe don't get back till late.

People abroad on business / holiday?

There must be an obvious reason - surely we're passed all the biddies counting everything by hand as well lol.

postal votes are the alternative - if ppl can think in advance prob best not to have them voting  

I would think that it would be difficult and expensive to have the secure infrastructure required.  There is also endless opportunities for rigtardness.   I guess it might come in when there is some sort of government service portal that uses biometrics of some kind for access.

edit

there are also some sticky practical issues as it's not permitted to count votes or release the results of exit polls until the voting is over.  Obviously all sorts of issues with online voting numbers being accessed.

[scotty77]

This is probably a dumb question, but why can't you vote online? Surely in this day and age it should be an option? Bet there's millions that would do it online but can't be arsed to faff around getting the forms and treking down to the station.

Also worker who commute early in the morning and work long hours, maybe don't get back till late.

People abroad on business / holiday?

There must be an obvious reason - surely we're passed all the biddies counting everything by hand as well lol.

Surely it should still be an 'event' rather than just clicking a buttons like we do all day every day.

You don't need to take the polling card to vote either.

[DaveShoelace]

This is probably a dumb question, but why can't you vote online? Surely in this day and age it should be an option? Bet there's millions that would do it online but can't be arsed to faff around getting the forms and treking down to the station.

Also worker who commute early in the morning and work long hours, maybe don't get back till late.

People abroad on business / holiday?

There must be an obvious reason - surely we're passed all the biddies counting everything by hand as well lol.

Surely it should still be an 'event' rather than just clicking a buttons like we do all day every day.

You don't need to take the polling card to vote either.

Probably encourages people to be a little bit more considered in who they vote for too, having to physically go and vote takes effort so you will actually put effort into the way you vote. If you can just click a button online you might be a bit more knee jerk about it.

[scotty77]

Could maybe introduce electronic terminals at the stations but thats expensive and they could break down.

Also I don't think I'd like it to all be automatically totted up and the results to be known at 10:01. 

The election night coverage and the sweat when the cameras go to a very close seat is what makes the whole thing worthwhile.